Domain 5: Develop public health policies and plans

The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health (CGCDPH) used PDSA to improve its process for applying for grants and involving all staff in understanding the process.

Tazewell County Health Department (TCHD) followed a Kaizen QI process to decrease the time for completing the deposit and receipt process for fee revenue. The number of days from receipt to post decreased from 30 to 5, an 83% reduction. Additional improved outcomes resulted from the Kaizen process.

Saginaw County Department of Public Health (SCDPH) conducts strategic planning every 2 years. After noting that not all staff were engaged, the four previous strategic planning groups conducted a PDSA cycle on the strategic planning process. As a result, staff are now more committed to setting and...

The local health department noted waning engagement of the coalition working to implement the collaborative 2011 community action plan. Through a PDSA approach they were able to re-energize the coalition by collectively reassessing the community action plan, improving its clarity, re-developing...

Inadequate documentation of policies and procedures is not just a hassle; it can also create confusion and redundancies that bog down staff’s ability to provide effective public health services and programs to the community. A small, rural local health department used quality improvement methods...

Local health departments play a critical role in responding to public health emergencies and often test their ability to respond during exercises or drills. One local health department in Illinois used the PDCA cycle to improve its ability to assemble staff in a complete and timely manner during...

The Sedgwick County Health Department improved the quality of the collaborative process related to communication, empowerment, and recruitment of diverse people and organizations so that individuals and organizations critical to the implementation and success of its community's health...

Even the implementation of evidence-based public health interventions poses challenges for most health departments. Using rapid-cycle tools and regular status monitoring, Cleveland County Health Department dramatically improved completion of the 5A’s smoking cessation service.

The Allegan County Health Department used QI to increase of the percent of department programs that perform client satisfaction surveys from 33 to 81%. As a result valuable feedback from clients is enabling the department to provide services and programs that better meet the needs of its community.

St. Croix County Public Health nurses were concerned that the time needed to complete required paperwork was taking them away from serving postpartum mothers and newborn babies. To put clients first, they conducted a quality improvement initiative that reduced the time for documentation by 37%....

The local health department improved how they got customer satisfaction information from clients at their sexually transmitted disease clinics, enabling them to use the feedback to increase client satisfaction, improve program efficiency and provide culturally-appropriate services.

By using quality planning to improve the effectiveness of community meetings, this small rural county increased community engagement and participation from 40 to 66% in the county-wide community health assessment and improvement planning process.

The county has a high percentage of overweight and obese children. Pleasant Street School staff implemented activities related to nutrition education in a school setting. Student knowledge about fruits and vegetables increased, and the school received additional funds to foster healthy eating.

This six-county health district department used QI to achieve a 75% increase in response to satisfaction surveys by customers of their environmental health services.

This local health department improved participation and contributions by their partners in the community to the Community Health Improvement Plan by 70%, leading to strengthened relationships with and more effective collaborative partnerships to take action to improve the community’s health.

The Kane County Health Department utilized QI tools to improve the efficiency of its community meeting process, strengthening the engagement and commitment of community partners.